Fate's Plan
by Masterarcher
Summary: Legolas and Estel meet for the first time. Chaper 2 is up! Sorry it took so long. New adventures! Please just read it and review even if you don't like it. No Slash! Chapter 2 has been reposted.
1. Chapter 1

Fate's Plan

A/N Ok I know this has been done a thousand times but you people know most authors of LOTR fiction has to do this some time so bear with me.

Disclaimer: I don't own them Tolkien does.

Morning rose slowly over the blessed valley nestled in the Misty Mountains. One of the last peaceful places in all of Middle Earth, Imladris began to wake. There was nothing but color in this serene Elvish realm and they all shown brightly today. The trickling of the hidden fountains could be heard behind the songs of the birds. It was a very special day today in the Last Homely House because a special guest was returning after a very long absence.

Legolas Greenleaf, Crown Prince of Mirkwood, rode at a light canter into the gates of Rivendell and dismounted swiftly. '_It is so good to be back!_' Legolas thought as he surveyed the once familiar landscape. "Welcome back good Prince! It has been far to long. Even by Elven standards." the stable hand said taking the reigns of Legolas' horse.

"Hannon le. It has been to long." Legolas had barely gotten those words out of his mouth when two identical blurs plowed into him. By some miracle of the Valar he had managed to stay on his feet and the chuckle of the stable hand didn't escape his attention. "We agree!" The blurs said in unison.

"Elladan! Elrohir!" Legolas greeted the twin sons of the Lord of Rivendell.

"Princeling!" They replied. Legolas glared at them for the use of that name but embraced them never the less.

"Legolas." Another, deeper voice said from the top of a flight of stairs that led into the houses. Lord Elrond Perendil strode down the stairs with a broad smile on his face. Legolas matched the smile with one of his own and put a hand over his heart and bowed low as was the elven custom. "Lord Elrond." He said.

"There is no need for formalities here ion-minya (Second son)." Legolas stood up and smiled even more.

"Ada you know the little prince here is always on his best behavior!" Elladan said with a sly grin.

"Not so, Elladan." Said Elrohir. "I remember like it was yesterday the time Legolas was found in his fathers wine seller smelling of alcohol and not being able to walk out the door on his own!" By now both twins were doubled over in laughter. Legolas felt his ear tips redden and he could have swore he had hear a snicker coming from Lord Elrond but the Keeper of Vilya just arched an elegant eyebrow and said, "I do believe he was dared to drink so much by The Terrible Twins." Legolas sent Elrond a grateful look and the twins sobered up immediately.

"Tell me Legolas how are things in Mirkwood and with Lord Thranduil?"

At Lord Elronds comment Legolas' eyes visibly darkened and became emotionless. He went rigid as if he was just delivering a message to any other diplomat. Elrond frowned at the sudden change, deeply troubled. "Mirkwood is increasingly becoming more dangerous as the spiders, Orcs, and other foul creatures are becoming more aggressive and daring. Three immortal lives have been lost this year alone. My father is very concerned about what to do and…" Legolas trailed off as his elven eyes noticed a small head peeking out from behind Lord Elronds robes.

Legolas subconsciously cocked his head to the side and his eyes widened as he realized the head belonged to a young human child. Lord Elrond brought the boy out from behind his robes and stood the child in front of him. "Legolas this is my adoptive son, Estel." The boy bowed awkwardly but Legolas just raised an eyebrow at the twins, doing a perfect impression of Elrond.

Both the twins looked uncertainly between their friend and brother. Legolas had not reason to dislike humans but all of Mirkwood elves where known to be stand offish around them. Legolas, however, just looked at the boy.

Later that evening Legolas was found in the twin's rooms drilling them about Estel, where he came from, and why he lived here.

"He's an aden!"

"We know that Legolas." Elladan said with a slight roll of his eyes.

"How old is he?"

"Seven."

"How long has he been living here?"

"Since he was two." Legolas stopped at that answer. "So young. What of his parents?" Elrohir sighed as Elladan got up to close the door.

"Legolas what we are about to tell you may not leave this room and you must promise never to tell Estel." Elrohir said with the most serious of tones. "I promise." Legolas said automatically.

"Estel's real name is Aragorn. His parents were Arathorn and Gilrean."

"Arathorn? The chieftain of the Dunadain? Legolas asked with mild shock. "Aye." Elladan answered.

Legolas was suddenly lost in memories of a hunting trip on the outskirts of Mirkwood when he and his party had come across Arathorn and his rangers camping. Gilrean and her baby had been with them, along with some of the other wives, a true testament of the growing danger. The baby was but a few months old at the time. The elves knew Arathorn and his company very well and the man was well liked by the elves.

They had stayed with the company for some time into the evening, telling stories of adventures long past, when the young baby had begun to cry. Gilrean had politely excused herself and walked into the forest to try and calm the boy. Knowing firsthand how dangerous the woods where, Legolas had followed her.

The mother was rocking her baby and talking softly to him but the boy refused to stop crying. Gilrean tried to reach into her pocket but was unable. She saw Legolas and asked if she would mind helping her. Before he could answer her she had thrust the babe into his arms and reached for her pockets again. Her actions were halted when she heard…nothing. The child had stopped crying and was looking directly into Legolas' eyes and the elf was looking right back.

In those few minutes Legolas saw a dangerous but bright future, filled with hardship and anguish but also with love. Legolas could also see the kindness and compassion in the depth of the boy's eyes. "His name is Aragorn." Gilrean had said. She also say she had suspected that what the boy wanted was Legolas' attention. "He's been cooing and reaching for you all night." She said. Legolas was baffled but said nothing.

Two years later Mirkwood had received word of Arathorn and Gilrean's death and all elves mourned there passing. Legolas had been very disturbed by the news and the fact that there was not word of what had happened to the child.

"I thought he was dead." Legolas said mostly to himself.

"His mother brought him here and died shortly after." Elladan said.

"He's had a hard life, Legolas, but he is a happy and well loved child. Our father took him as a foster son and he is now our brother. We love him." Elrohir said with pride in his voice.

"He is destined to be King, mellon-nin. Please do not tell him of this. Let him have his childhood." Elladan spoke these words with grief and concern laced in his eyes. "I will not breath a word." Legolas promised. Relief shown in the twin's eyes as they spoke in unison, "Hannon le."

"If you'll excuse be I would like some time to myself now." Legolas said and has the twins nodded he left the room. Legolas took a little used hallway through the house on his way to his favorite garden. As he was about to turn the corner the elven prince's sensitive ears picked up the sound of voices. Deciding he did not wish to exchange pleasantries with anyone Legolas turned to leave when he heard a distinctively young voice say, "But why can't I come?"

'_That is strange. There are not elflings in Rivendell._' Thought Legolas. Peeking around the corner Legolas saw a small hunting party of elves standing around Estel. "Because you are to young." An elf hunter named Lokel said as kindly as possible.

"What you mean to say is," a third voice said with cruelty, "There is no way and Aden could ever be skilled enough to hunt with us."

At this Legolas focused his eyes on the owner of the third voice and saw that it belonged to Tarmoth, a particularly vicious elf with absolutely no love for humans, though no one knew why. Estel took the verbal blow with grace far exceeding his years and looked straight into the elf's eyes and said, "I only wanted to help."

Tarmoth laughed harshly. "The only way you can help Aden would be to leave or turn into and elf so we wouldn't have to listen to your brothers talk about your growing skill with a bow, though I doubt you can even hold one!"

Legolas had head enough and straighten up putting on his most regal face and lifted his chin as he turned the corner. "Now, now Tarmoth I remember a certain elflings who couldn't hit the broad side of the stables." Legolas said glaring coldly at the other elf.

The rest of the hunting party bowed respectfully and left quickly. Tarmoth too tried to leave but Legolas advanced on him a few steps and stopped the young elf. Lowering his voice to a fierce whisper Legolas said, "If I ever hear of you talking to that boy like that again or harming him in any way know that you will have to learn to shoot a bow with only one hand." The dangerous glint in the blonde elf's eyes told that he meant every word. Tarmoth bowed and said, "Yes prince Greenleaf." And with that he left.

Legolas walked back over to Estel and knelt in front of the boy. The prince took this moment to study the boy taking in the small form, which seemed to fit the elven cloths perfectly, his dark hair brushed neatly behind his rounded ears, and finally the boy's dark gray eyes that were now filled with tears. "Estel, I'm…" Legolas never got the change to finish his statement because the young boy had launched himself into the prince's arms, crying softly against his shoulder. Protectiveness suddenly grabbed the elf's heart as he hugged the small boy back.

"I'll make sure they never tease you again." Legolas swore. Estel pulled back from the embrace and looked directly into Legolas' eyes as if searching for something. Legolas looked back into the familiar gray eyes and suddenly saw a scene before him of an older man being crowned in a courtyard of stone. Legolas even saw himself standing behind the man matching the human's grin. The prince was brought back to the present but the boy saying "Hannon le."

Legolas smiled and replied, "No thanks are needed. I would, however, like very much to be your friend." Estel grinned. "You've always been my friend!" He said, although he himself didn't fully understand why he had said that. Legolas just laughed and embraced the boy again.

From around the corner identical smiles light the faces of Elladan and Elrohir. They had no doubt that these two would be a pain in their arse for years to come but they were filled with joy because of it.

TBC?

Idfyou like this and want me to continue please tell me!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N Thanks to all who reviewed. This chapter has been reposted because it was posted wrong. As some of you pointed out it had a lot of grammatical mistakes. This is because When I was editing I forgot to hit the save button to my corrections. It has been fixed had I hope this makes the story more enjoyable.

In the days following the beginning of Legolas and Estel's friendship, Rivendell was turned upside down. With The Terrible Twins always ganging up on him his whole life, Legolas was thrilled to have the devious Estel on his side. At the moment the new pranking duo were incorporating the help of a very pretty she-elf that both the twins had a crush on to help with the prank.

"Oh Elladan! Elrohir! Could you help me please? I can't seem to reach the top button of the back of my dress." She called silkily.

Both Estel and Legolas smirked as they heard twin feet running for the door and as soon as the door opened, honey drenched the twins that now stood still in shock. Without missing a beat Legolas and Estel ran to dump a bucketful of feathers on each twin and the uncontrollable laughter of the elf maiden could be heard clearly as the prankers ran out of the house and into the forest.

"You're both going to meet Mandos today!" The twins shouted as they ran after the shrinking figures of their friend and brother.

The chase lasted all the way to the lake that rested a little way outside the houses. Legolas and Estel were the first ones there and they quickly hid in near-by underbrush until the twins passed them. "You think they went into the lake?' Elrohir asked as he and his brother arrived. As Elladan shrugged in response they both heard two war cries and where suddenly pushed into the lake followed shortly by Estel and Legolas. When the four friends surfaced, Legolas and Estel were laughing hysterically while Elladan and Elrohir exchanged annoyed glances then tackled the other two. They all spent the rest of the day playing in the lake and just as dusk was about to set, they pulled themselves ashore and all the twins said was, "Let it be war on you both."

That night after everyone had dried off and gone to bed, Estel tossed and turned trying to deal with nightmares…of his parent's death. Being as Legolas' room was right next-door he heard the noise and got up to check on his young friend. Silently he crept into the dark room and was surprised to see…nothing. The boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Estel?' Legolas called thinking that he might be hiding but there was no answer.

Next the elf noticed that the window was open and he went to investigate. Directly beneath him was one of Rivendell's many gardens, which had grown vines all the way up the side of the house. Legolas decided to climb the vines to the roof of the house where he was rewarded to find Estel sitting perfectly still with his knees tucked under his chin and staring at the adjacent tree.

"Estel?" Legolas asked again.

"I can't climb that tree." The boy responded never averting his gaze.

"You climbed up here pretty well." Legolas said with a smirk as he sat down next to the child.

"I can't reach the branches."

"I could help you." Legolas offered and this got Estel to look at him.

"I would like that." Estel said and then tuned to look at the tree again. "I had another nightmare."

"About you parents?" Legolas asked knowingly. Estel nodded.

"I can barely remember my mothers scent or my fathers voice but I can see their downfall in my head almost every night."

Legolas put his arms around the small boys shoulders. _'This poor boy.'_ He thought. _'Stripped of his innocents far too young,' _"Estel, I wish I could take away these painful memories but not even my elvish magic could do that. I wish it could."

A small rueful smile graced the boy's lips. "Just…sit with me, please?"

"Of course Estel." And the two of them sat there with Estel staring at the tree and Legolas keeping his charge warm as he reflected on how the boy was much too mature for his age. A few hours later Legolas felt a new weight on his shoulder and looked down to see that Estel had finally fallen asleep. Nimbly, in a way only an elf could manage, Legolas gently picked the boy up, climbed down the vines, and carefully tucked the boy in. With a fond smile Legolas slipped out of the room and back into his own bed.

The next morning Estel slowly opened his eyes to see a blurry person towering over him. When his eyes cleared Estel saw a grinning Legolas looking at him happily. "So you wanna talk to a tree?" The elf asked. Estel grinned and jumped out of bed. After the dark haired boy had gotten dressed and the pair had eaten breakfast, the friends went outside and hiked to the trunk of the massive tree. As soon as Legolas touched the bark he began to laugh and said, "He says he's glad to see you Estel." The boy backed up with shock on his face.

"He knows me?"

Legolas nodded and said, "He likes your determination in trying to climb up and I just asked him to help you." Just as Legolas had said that a tree branch bent down and it's leaves tousled Estel's hair. The boy enthusiastically grabbed on and for the first time in his short life Estel got to climb his favorite tree. Legolas also nimbly jumped into the branches and helped Estel from time to time until they reached the top and poked their heads out of the top of the foliage.

Estel gave a small gasp and a 'wow' and Legolas grinned happily at the sight before them. All of Imladris could be seen and it was a breathtaking sight that made the friends seem as if they were on top of the world. The House's of Elrond were perfectly visible as well as a few inhabitants of the houses. The whole place glowed angelically with an unearthly light that seemed to radiate from within. The woods surrounding the haven were also a thing of beauty as they could be seen from miles in all directions and remained untouched by the spreading evils.

The friends stayed there in silence, just enjoying the sight, until they got hungry for the mid-day meal and then they began to make their way down from the tree. Legolas helped Estel most of the way until they were about fifteen feet from the ground when Estel decided he would make it the rest of the way on his own. Legolas saw no problem with this as they where almost there anyway.

Unfortunately Estel misjudged the distance to the next branch and his foot slipped. He fell without so much as a scream and even the tree could not stop the boy's fast descent. Legolas yelled his name in horror and hurried down the tree double pace and reached the ground quickly but not before Estel had hit the ground and there was a distinctive 'snap' heard by the Prince's elven ears. In an instant Legolas was at the boys side and gently turned his young friend over to see a tear streaked face.

"It hurts Legolas!" the boy sobbed and Legolas' heart broke.

"Where does it hurt young one?"

"My arm. I want Ada!" Legolas nodded and scooped the boy up as he himself neared tears. The elf ran all the way to the healing wing of the house where he knew Lord Elrond would be at this time of day, with the twins most likely. When the young elf did finally reach the healer's domain that is exactly what he found.

"Legolas!" The twins said in unison before whatever comment they were going to make died on their lips as they saw their little brother trying valiantly to cease the tears.

"He fell out of the tree and his arm is broken. I tried to catch him I really did!"

"Hush Legolas! This is not your fault." Elrond said taking Estel from the distraught elf. "Elladan, mix some of my special tea for your brother. Elrohir, take Legolas and wait outside." At Elronds instructions the twins hopped to. Legolas just managed to mouth 'I'm sorry' before Elrohir guided him out of the room.

Half an hour later found Legolas nervously pacing in front of the healer's door while Elrohir sat watching him wondering how long it would take for a hole to wear in the floor.

"What could be taking so long?" Legolas cried for at least the millionth time as he whittled nervously at a piece of wood.

"It takes time mellon-nin! Be patient. What are you working on?"

"It was going to be a birthday present for Estel but I think I'll give it to him now. Assuming of course your father ever lets me near him again." Legolas said sadly.

"Princeling! My father does not blame you nor does Estel. If my father prohibited every person who has ever injured Estel from seeing him than Elladan and I would never see our brother!" Legolas laughed at this and went back to whittling. Fifteen minutes later Elrond opened the door looking tired but not worried or angry. "Legolas you can…" Elrond stopped mid sentence and raised an eyebrow at all the wood chips in the hall. Legolas looked sheepishly at the Lord of Imladris and mumbled an apology before asking how Estel faired.

"He will be fine. He will be confined to his bed for a couple of days and then he will have to be careful with his arm for a few weeks but it was a clean break and should heal fast. You may see him if you like." Elrond said and Legolas all but shoved Elrond out of the way as he entered the room. Lord Elrond smirked at Elrohir who just shook his head in amusement.

Inside the room Estel sat, propped up in a bed looking a bit worn but still a happy little boy, considering. He had one plastered arm cradled to his side in an attempt to protect it from being jostled.

"I am so sorry!" Legolas said grabbing the boy in a careful but fierce hug.

"Legolas! The boy must breath to get better!" Elladan said as he prepared to leave the room.

"Oh, sorry." Legolas said releasing the boy and taking a seat next to him.

"It was not you fault mellon-nin. It was an accident. Actually I think it was a small price to pay to get to climb my tree for the first time." Estel said looking perfectly innocent. Legolas laughed at the logic of a child.

"Well I'm just happy you are going to be alright and I shall keep you company during you days of captivity to the healer's wing. Oh and I made you something." Legolas said taking out the now finished statue he had been working on. The finished toy turned out to be a beautifully sculpted three-inch tall statue of a horse, one of the great horses. Estel's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he gingerly accepted the gift. The detail and thoughtfulness of it was not lost on the boy.

"It's wonderful Legolas! But it seems so…familiar." Legolas nodded knowingly with a smile on his face.

"Your mother had one just like it for you when you were a baby. It was the only thing that would calm you down when you were upset." Estel lovingly rubbed the horse and looked at Legolas in amazement.

"You knew my parents?" The boy asked in surprise. Legolas' alerts went off in his head as he remembered he could not tell Estel anything important about his parents.

"Aye, I knew them. Please understand that you cannot ask me about them. They were good people. I was very fond of them and I know they loved you **so** much!

Estel smiled wistfully as though remembering something and then he lunged at Legolas and wrapped one of his small arms around the elf's neck, careful not to hurt the injured one. "This is the best gift I've ever gotten Legolas! Thank you gwador-nin! I love you." This time it was Legolas who was the one to have tears in his eyes as he embraced his self proclaimed little brother.

Elrond and the twins had witnessed the loving scene from the doorway and Elrond currently swatted at his eyes as it ended.

"Ada are you crying?" Elladan asking in disbelief.

"I do believe I am ion-nin." Both the twins hugged their father and all five people in the room enjoyed the feeling of family love pulsing all around them.

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"Now Elladan, I do believe we need to be planning revenge for a certain prank played on us earlier." Elrohir said with a mischievous grin on his face that Elladan matched perfectly. "Yes my dear brother I think we do!" And with that the twins tried their hand at the best evil laugh they could muster. Elrond, Legolas, and Estel just raised an eyebrow…before dissolving into laughter of their own!

The End


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